So far I have written about the parents, grandparents, and in-laws our immigrant ancestor Johann George Schumm II. Today, Johann George Schumm II’s family in Germany, from the Ruppertshofen church records. Once again, the church records give up some surprises.

Ruppertshofen and church.

Our immigrant ancestor Johann George Schumm II (1777-1846) married Anna Maria Fischer (1779-1822) on 28 April 1807. I am calling him Johann George Schumm II to differentiate him from his father, who was also Johann Georg.

Johann Georg II and Anna Maria (Fischer) Schumm had a family of 11 children. Theirs was the largest Schumm family in at least three generations. Of those 11 children 4 died very young, 2 died when they were young adults, and 5 immigrated to America in 1833 with their father Johann Georg II.

Children of Johann Georg Schumm II & wife Anna Maria (Fischer), from Ruppertshofen Familienbuch, Ancestry.com Image 829/1244

The children of Johann George II and Anna Maria (Fischer) Schumm:

Their first child, Johann Georg Schumm, was born 6 December 1807 and was baptized 8 December 1807. Among his baptismal sponsors was his uncle Johann Albrecht Schumm. Johann Martin Stapf is mentioned after Johann Albreccht’s name. Johann Albrecht Schumm was Johann Georg Schumm II’s younger brother who died in 1813 from wounds he received during the battle of Leipzig. Johann Martin Stapf was Johann Georg Schumm II’s step-father. It looks like the letters S.G.V. follow Johann Martin Stapf’s name and I wonder if they are an abbreviation for Stiefgrossvater or Step-grandfather. Johann Albrecht Schumm was a baptismal sponsor and Johann Martin Stapf is mentioned after his name for the children in this family who were born through 1812. The child Johann Georg died less than two weeks later, on 18 December 1807 and was buried on the 20^th.

Their second child, George Michael Schumm, was born 25 November 1808, baptized 26 November 1808, and was confirmed in 1822. He died of consumption on 19 Jul 1831 and was buried on the 21^st.  He was 22 years, 7 months, and 21 days old and never married. Just two years later his father and five of his siblings came to America. Johann Albrecht Schumm was one of the baptismal sponsors and Johann Martin Stapf’s name is mentioned after his. 

Their third child, Maria Katharina, was born 20 April 1810, baptized 22 April 1810, and was confirmed in 1824. Johann Albrecht Schumm was one of the baptismal sponsors and Johann Martin Stapf’s name is mentioned after his. Maria Katharina immigrated to America with her father and her 4 brothers in 1833.

It was interesting to find an additional child born to Johann Georg and Anna Maria Schumm. This child, their fourth, is not included in our Schumm history but is included on Johann Georg’s Familienbuch page with his other children, an entry of the child’s birth and baptism. Their fourth child was born 21 October 1811, was baptized, and died that same day. Four sets of baptismal sponsors were listed, Johann Albrecht Schumm was one of the baptismal sponsors and Johann Martin Stapf’s name is mentioned after his. However, they did not name this child and the word totgeboren was used in the record, meaning stillborn. Perhaps the child lived a short time.  

Schumm, unnamed child of JG II & AM (Fischer) Schumm, born & died 21 Oct 1811, Ancestry.com image 635/1108

Their fifth child, Georg Martin, was born 20 November 1812 and was baptized 24 November 1812. Johann Albrecht Schumm was among the baptismal sponsors and Johann Martin Stapf’s name is mentioned after his.  Georg Martin Schumm was confirmed in 1826 and immigrated to America with his father, 3 brothers, and sister in 1833.

Their sixth child, Johann Friedrich, was born 24 April 1814, baptized 27 April 1814, and was confirmed in 1828. He immigrated to America with his father, 3 brothers, and sister in 1833.

Their seventh child, Johann Jacob, was born 26 September 1815, baptized 29 Sep 1815, and confirmed in 1829. He immigrated to America with his father, 3 brothers, and sister in 1833.

Their eighth child, Georg Ludwig, was born 4 March 1817, baptized 6 March 1817, and confirmed in 1831. He immigrated to America with his father, 3 brothers, and sister in 1833.

Their ninth child, Maria Rosine, was born 19 March 1818 and was baptized 20 March 1818. She died of consumption on 20 January 1819, aged 9 months and 29 days. She was buried on 22 January.

Their tenth child, Anna Maria, was born 29 October 1819 and was baptized 1 November 1819. She died on 2 November 1819 from what looks like, when translated, arthritis or gout. She was only 3 days old.

Their eleventh child, Maria Rosine II, was born 6 March 1821, baptized 8 March 1821, and was confirmed 20 April 1834. She remained in Germany after her father and her 5 siblings emigrated to America. Maria Rosine died of complications from childbirth on 27 March 1843. Her child, Margaretha Barbara Schumm, was born 2 February 1843, baptized 28 February, and died 22 May 1843.

Margaretha Barbara Schumm, b.2 Feb 1843, d.22 May 1843, d/o Maria Rosine II, Ancestry.com image 821/1108

This last bit of information is probably new information for most reading this.

The names of baby Margaretha Barbara Schumm’s baptismal sponsors are difficult to read but I wonder if they might have been relatives, aunts or uncles from the maternal Fischer side of the family. That will need more research. I assume one of them took care of baby Margaretha Barbara after Marie Rosine II died. The baby girl lived nearly two months after the mother’s death.

One wonders why the youngest daughter, Maria Rosine II, did not travel to America in 1833 with her father and siblings. She was only 12 years old when they left. Who did she stay with after they lelft? Her 73-year-old step-grandfather Johann Martin Stapf? Did he raise Maria Rosine II after the rest of her family left for America? Or did she, at age 12, take care of him? Or did she stay with one of her Fischer aunts or uncles? Her mother had several living siblings at that time.  

We will probably never know for sure why Maria Rosine stayed behind in Ruppertshofen, but here are couple theories.

The Schumm history says “…Maria Rosine II remained behind in Germany to be a comfort to the maternal grandparents in their declining years. Originally it had been planned to have her follow later but she did not survive the grandparents, dying March 27, 1843…”

However, all four of her biological grandparents were deceased by the time her father and 5 siblings left for America in 1833. Paternal grandparents Johann George Schumm I died in 1791 and his widow Anna Margaretha (Franz) Schumm Stapf died in 1819. Maternal grandparents Georg Michael Fischer died in 1821 and his wife Anna Maria Hohenstein) Fischer died in 1818. The only remaining grandparent was Maria Rosine II’s step-grandfather, widower Johann Martin Stapf, the second husband of her paternal grandmother Anna Margaretha (Franz) Schumm. They married in 1792. Stapf was 12 years younger than Anna Margaretha but nonetheless was probably a father figure to Johann George Schumm II and grandfather to Johann Georg II’s children. Stapf’s name shows up in a number of the family’s church records, such as Johann Georg Schumm II and Anna Maria Fischer’s marriage record and the baptismal records of their first five children. So Stapf was actively involved in the family. Stapf was 73 years old when the Schumm family immigrated to America and Maria Rosine II may have stayed behind to care for him. He and Maria Rosina II probably could have traveled to America with the rest of the family. Was Johann Martin Stapf in ill health? Was he too old to travel? Or was money an issue? Emigrating was costly. Johann Martin Stapf lived another 10 years and died in Ruppertshofen 16 December 1843, residing in that town the rest of his life.

Another theory is that perhaps Johann George Schumm II thought the American frontier was too dangerous and uncertain for young Maria Rosine II, who was only 12 years old in 1833.

I have a theory of my own. I noticed that Maria Rosine II was confirmed in 1834, a year after the rest of her family left Germany. When her family left Germany in 1833 Maria Rosine II would have been in the middle of her Catechism instruction. Their faith was very important to the Schumms and perhaps her father Johann Georg II thought it was more important for Maria Rosine to complete her religious education in Germany, rather than in America, and be confirmed in the church the family had attended for decades. Their church in Ruppertshofen was a sure thing. America was an unknown.

There is one additional thing to note about some areas of Germany in those days, particularly in Wuerttemberg. It could be very difficult to get permission to marry in the 1800s. The Community Council/Village Council would grant a couple permission to marry if they felt the couple could support a family. It was all about money. If you had money you could get permission to marry. I attended a conference session a few years ago and the speaker told that for about 10 years one pair of his German ancestors could not get permission to marry, but in the meantime they went ahead and had several children. They started their family while waiting for permission to marry. When you think about that, what’s the point? They started their family and had children anyway, with or without being legally married.

I am not saying this was Maria Rosina’s situation, but she was probably not wealthy and, knowing the way things were in Germany two hundred years ago, it is something to consider.  

That’s the Johann Georg Schumm history, as recorded in the Ruppertshofen church records. It is a story with some sad and unfortunate endings, but also a story with many good endings. It is a family story and legacy that continued on in a new land.

I wonder if Johann Georg Schumm II ever imagined that he would have such a large number of descendants and that his legacy and the faith he nourished would continue on for generations.

I will share any “new” information, if discovered.